VPN leak testing
Checking IP, DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC behavior so readers can tell whether a VPN is actually protecting traffic.
Short bio and latest work
Steve Price
Independent VPN researcher and privacy writer
Computer science background, 20+ years in IT and networking, and a practical focus on VPN leak testing, kill switch reliability, safer public Wi-Fi, online banking safety, and privacy-focused troubleshooting.
Steve Price is a pen name used for VPN privacy research and practical security writing.
20+ years in IT and networking
Computer science background
VPN leak and kill switch testing
Public Wi-Fi and banking safety
Experience
Technical privacy writing built from real network work.
Steve Price is an independent VPN researcher and privacy writer with a computer science background and more than 20 years of experience in IT and networking. He has spent much of that time debugging systems, reverse engineering behavior, and tracing how applications and network traffic work in real-world conditions.
His work focuses on VPN security, leak testing, kill switch reliability, and the privacy limits of consumer VPNs. He writes about IP, DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC leaks; safer use of public Wi-Fi; online banking over untrusted networks; and how browsers, operating systems, and VPN clients interact under failure conditions.
His approach is practical and test-driven: verify claims, reproduce issues, inspect network behavior, and document what users can check for themselves.
Focus
What Steve researches.
Kill switch reliability
Looking at what happens when VPN tunnels fail, networks change, or apps restart under imperfect conditions.
Practical privacy guidance
Translating technical behavior into clear, realistic advice for public Wi-Fi, online banking, and everyday browsing.
Provider claim verification
Separating marketing language from reproducible checks, documented trade-offs, and user-visible evidence.
Editorial standards
Clear guidance, testable claims.
For DoVPN, Steve focuses on the parts of VPN use where trust can be inspected: leak behavior, failure modes, privacy trade-offs, and realistic user safety.
- Verify claims with repeatable checks whenever possible.
- Explain limitations clearly instead of overstating privacy guarantees.
- Prioritize safety, reliability, and user trust over provider marketing.
- Keep guidance practical enough for readers to test on their own devices.
Selected work
Latest research and practical guides.
A concise selection of evidence-led reporting, original research and useful technical guidance.
View all publications
Research
VPN protocol transparency
VPN Protocol Transparency Report 2026
Among 20 core provider-developed technologies in the July 13, 2026 registry, 3 had a dedicated public assessment and 6 had full or partial public source located.
Research
VPN protocol research
VPN Protocol Comparison: Which Should You Use?
Compare WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2 and 20 provider VPN technologies using documented source, audit, platform and restricted-network evidence.
Analysis
Proton Protocols analysis
Proton Protocols is not a new VPN protocol: what ProTUN changes
An evidence-led analysis of Proton's shared Rust WireGuard client engine, including the roles of ProTUN, libpvpnclient, LocalAgent and muon, plus source, audit and rollout limits.
Research
DoVPN review methodology
How DoVPN tests and reviews VPNs
The evidence standards, repeatable tests, scoring rules, refresh periods, and publication requirements used for DoVPN provider reviews.
Analysis
Mullvad ownership and trust
Mullvad donation controversy: What happened and should you switch?
A verified account of Daniel Berntsson's SEK 5 million political donation, Mullvad's response, the technical privacy impact and alternatives for users who choose to leave.